Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
The answer to the question -- if a tree fell in a forest and no one was there, would it make a sound? -- is undecided. So I've got a new question. If Jim Fosgate's surround sound system technology were put in the middle of a forest and no one was there, would it make a sound? Most definitely.
The Rockford-Fosgate car power amps have brought Jim success and fame. But Jim has worked more than 25 years to develop his real love -- surround sound technology for TV home theaters, video games and automobiles. Hard work and beautiful sound have culminated into Dolby ProLogic II, a technology that converts sound from a two-channel source to an output of five channels. He'll collect his prestigious Emmy award tomorrow for developing the technology.
Since boyhood, Jim has always loved music and sound. He tells me he learned to love audio from his dad, an owner of a TV repair shop in Indiana. His dad taught him about sound, radio and how to be an empirical thinker, or one who thinks for himself. Jim said his thoughts would often be a fantasy of what his surround sound would really sound like.
When enough technology became available, Jim said the inventing process became easier. He was able to develop what he had been imagining and feeling inside all his life. Now manufacturers of audio equipment bear Dolby ProLogic II on their products.
I had the opportunity to sit with Jim and listen to Nat King Cole in surround sound in his new Volvo with Dolby ProLogic II factory installed. I didn't know music could sound so good! In fact, Jim says that anyone off the street, with or without musical talent, can hear the difference in surround sound.
Jim continues to love his work, most of which he does in Heber. He showed me his collection of hundreds of vacuum tubes and radios dating back to the '20s and '30s. He also has more than 10,000 records that he listens to daily ... in surround sound, of course.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
